5 comments about Bed and Blessings Italy: A Guide to Convents and Monasteries Available for Overnight Lodging.

1. I was very disappointed in this book. The information is very old and rather inadequate. The publisher should revise this book or withdraw it from the marketplace.



2. We have used this book as a starting point to plan seven trips to Italy over the past four years. For the most part, we have found the contact information reasonable accurate. We've found it still to be a very credible source, even though the information IS a couple of years old.

   A bit of advice based on our experiences.

   1. It may be helpful to send faxes during Italian business hours. Some of the convents seem to turn their faxes off during their night-time hours.
   2. When corresponding with the convents should include your e-mail address. Recently, we've noticed that many of the convents that we fax respond to us by e-mail. This simplifies things.
   3. Not all convents and monasteries answer faxes promptly. First, an overseas fax may be a significant expense for a non-profit religious organization. Second, if they have no vacancies, they may not respond. We've learned that if we don't get a response to a confirmed fax receipt, we may try once again or follow up by mail. If we still don't get a response, then we move on. Third, keep in mind that if they have a technical problem, their fax may be out of service for several days (or longer).




3. I traveled to Italy in October of 2002 and spent one month there, relying on Bed and Blessings for accurate information on where to stay inexpensively. I was truly dissapointed. I ended up finding fellow travellers to be a more reliable source of information than "Bed and Blessings."

   This book has not been updated since 1999 and over half the places I called did not have correct phone numbers in the book. Others were out of business or converted to hotels. Also, Italy now uses the Euro which is not listed in the book. One place listed in the book where I stayed, had fleas and they sufficiently dined on me. I fled the place the next morning to a local hotel.

   Julia needs to get busy updating the information in the book if she wants to continue to sell it as a useful reference. I would not buy it again unless it is updated.




4. My husband and I lived in Italy for three years from 2001 to 2004. We traveled so much we could not afford to stay at a "regular" hotel every time we traveled. "Bed and Blessings" was always the first source we turned to when we started planning a trip. We found it very reliable, though by the end of our tour of duty, it was already going out of date. Glad to see that it will be updated soon. We will definitely buy the new edition before we set off on our next trip to Italy.
   
   Each item generally contained everything we needed to know to decide if we wanted to stay there. We especially appreciated the maps and information on parking, as we often traveled by car.
   
   Staying in convents is not something a typical spoiled and demanding American tourist should attempt. The rooms will be sparsely furnished, the beds will be lumpy, the heating will be sporadic, and the staff will rarely speak English.
   
   But for open-minded, budget-constrained, flexible and experienced travelers, it is the only way to go. The rooms will be spotlessly clean, the location will often be exceptional, and the price will always be a fraction of what the hotel down the street is charging.
   
   Things may have changed in the past five years, but when we were using this book, few convents accepted credit cards and most answered the phone only around mealtimes (Italian mealtimes). Some were just starting to make and confirm reservations by e-mail, but only in Italian or very broken English. Every convent had a fax machine.
   
   Guests who stay at convents should remember where they are and adapt accordingly. Doors are often locked at 10 or 11 p.m. The staff is not available during prayer times. And if you are traveling as a couple, you might be asked if you are married.
   
   Now that we're back home in the USA, some of our best memories (and stories) were born in the convents featured in this book.
   Like the 500-year-old palazzo five blocks from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the one with the grand staircase and marble tiles that popped loose every time we walked on them. Or the modern hotel across the street from dock of the ferry that ran up and down the Cinque Terre coast. Or the beautiful palazzo around the corner from one of Rome's busist intersections, two blocks from one of the city's major bus hubs, where we fell asleep to sound of the motorinos (scooters) buzzing by on the street below.



5. The book was an excellent aid in securing reasonably priced accommodations in Rome and several cities to the North. The curfew - the front door being firmly locked at 10 PM - may be a problem for some but not for those who have spent a busy day sightseeing. We found one convent also closed the door during the lunch hour so we had to wait patiently for our check in. The only other negative was that some of the nuns were not terribly knowledgeable regarding operating their "hotel" and I had to help repair an electric outage.
   All in all, the book is a great aid in avoiding high-priced hotels.

4 comments about Blue Guide Florence, Ninth Edition.

1. This guide was required for a class I am taking. The guide is easy to read, colors are excellent, and the size is perfect for my travel bag. I know it will be an indispensable aid in Florence.



2. If your trip to Florence is motivated by your love for art, history and the developement of the medieval and renaiscance city, this is your guide.
   Buy the book before you go, and you will know what to look for and understand what you are seeing. Keep it after you return for reference.
   IT IS NOT A PRACTICAL GUIDE for finding the cheapest lodging or restaurant. Graphics are not as glossy or convenient as some of the "younger generation" guides.
   Enjoy your trip
   E. Yarhi,Jerusalem. Israel



3. The best guide book available for art, architecture, history and culture of any city, region or country.
   
   Don't leave home without it.



4. On his website, travel guru Rick Steves says that Blue Guides take "a dry and scholarly approach to the countries of Europe. They're ideal if you want to learn as much about history, art, architecture, and culture as you possibly can." This is basically true, though I much prefer a "dry and scholarly" tone to Rick's "nerdy and precious" style. He's great when it comes to practical tips, but he can't touch the historical, artistic and architectural content of the Blue Guides.
   
   Blue Guides pack a tremendous amount of information into their pages, much more than any other guide I've used. They're wonderful for reading before and after your trip, but they're probably too dense to pack and take along for most people. Before leaving on my honeymoon to Italy, I photocopied the relevant pages of the Northern Italy book to avoid having to pack it because I knew I wouldn't be visiting most of the cities it covers. On that trip I field-tested three guides: Rick Steves, Eyewitness, and Blue Guide.
   
   Blue Guides are not good to use as your main guide. They're far too light on practical matters such as maps, directions, hotels and restaurants, and they're not updated every year. I used Eyewitness to plan and get around and then pulled out the Blue Guide once I reached a major site. I used Rick Steves so little and found him so unhelpful that I left his books behind in hotels along the way.
   
   Blue Guides have come a long way over the years. I was given an older edition of the Rome guide many years ago, and I couldn't believe how small the print was; it had a lot of detail but would have been very difficult to use while traveling. The publishers have learned their lesson: the current editions are far easier to use and much more attractive, with colorful maps and an easier-to-read format. They've improved on the practical aspects as well, but you'll probably be in trouble if you rely on this book to get around. I recommend packing a more comprehensive one-volume guide such as Eyewitness and using Blue Guide to learn about specific sites once the other guide gets you to them. Keep Blue Guide on your shelf as an attractive reference and let it inspire you to return to Florence!

No comments about Venice Is a Fish: A Sensual Guide.

No comments about The Rough Guide to Tuscany Region Map (Rough Guide Country/Region Map).

1 comments about Blue Guide Southern Italy, Eleventh Edition (Blue Guides).

1. A guide book should
   
   1. review hotels, with phone numbers, email, website, closing seasons, price, and comments on quality;
   
   2. review restaurants, with cuisine, price, phone numbers, email, website, and closing times and days;
   
   3. have maps of towns with detailed and labeled streets (including one-way), marked with recommended hotels, restaurants, parking, and sites;
   
   4. good regional maps for driving;
   
   5. drawn or photographed areas for orientation;
   
   6. printed plans of museums (with opening times and days) and identifying diagrams of detailed art works;
   
   7. religious notes;
   
   8. and detailed discussion of the picturesque, the beautiful, the sublime - in nature and the arts - for the plucky, intelligent, curious, willing-to-learn, urbane, cosmopolitan traveler, done with a sense of history.
   
   The reader of this review should know that for me #8 outweighs all the others put together. For ##1-6 there are probably better travel books than The Blue Guides, the latter treating these matters a bit too cursory. A brief thumb-through in a large bookstore will tell which other guidebooks might meet these criteria - though British books are better than American, the British a less parochial and better educated people (perhaps I should add: I live in the South of the US). There are certainly better guidebooks for #7. Yet for #8, in English (those in German are better, the Germans an even more cosmopolitan and urbane people), The Blue Guides are the best, at least for those books most regularly updated. I have bought them for years and for every destination traveled. The Blue Guides are also kind enough to put the date of publication in the front, unlike the guidebooks of assorted confidence men and hucksters - a testimonial to the Blue Guide's integrity.
   
   The _Blue Guide Southern Italy_, 2007 (11th ed.), has 584 pages, of which the first 289 are Campania. Basilicata is covered in pages 291-318, Calabria 319-368, Abruzzo and Molise together 369-428, and Puglia 427-528. Unlike earlier editions, Latium south of Rome is excluded, leaving one to hope that Latium-Beyond-Rome will be a future Blue Guide. There are a copious index, a glossary of special terms, diagrams of the classical orders, and historical charts. Maps of many towns are provided. Just enough photos are included without the text turning into a glossy coffee table tome, and there are floor plans of important museums and churches. Usually how-to-get-there by means of train, bus, and car is discussed. The description of #8, especially with respect to the arts, is good - the book's real selling point. And it's not printed on cheap paper.
   
   Puglia deserves a book of its own, and another for Basilicata and Calabria. Perhaps the British and Irish don't go there (Blue Guides are published in the UK). The recent publication of a _Blue Guide Marche_ leads one to hope.

5 comments about Italy for the Gourmet Traveler.

1. If I had only one book to take with me when travelling in Italy, this would be it! Fred Plotkin's taste is impeccable. He's not a snob, and although not adverse to the occasional expensive restaurant, he generally leads you elsewhere: to the local trattorias that serve up sublimated versions of the local, home-cooked cuisine. His adjunct entries (food stores, markets, etc.) are also wonderful and fascinating. Some of the entries are out of date, but this is still essential for any food-loving traveller (and why go to Italy if you're not?).



2. I have used this book extensively during two trips to Italy, which covered approximately 45 days. This book is invaluable if you want to experience Italy like a "real" Italian.
   
   The author does a nice job explaining the various types of eating establishments (ristoranti, trattoria, osteria, enoteca, tavola calda, etc.) and how what you can expect in those establishments is different. The author also does a fabulous job of listing the various names for food stores and what they sell. This is extremely helpful if your Italian is weak or nonexistent. Also helpful for the first time visitor to Italy is the discussion of how to purchase something in a food shop. Most Americans are unfamiliar with the concept of paying first at the cashier, and then taking the ticket to the person who will prep your food. But in a gelateria or pizza shop this is just how it is done. Also nice, is how the author explains the table charge (or cover charge), what it is for, and that is optional since many locals will stand at the bar to eat.
   
   Regional specialties are covered in this book in reasonable detail. This is very helpful for getting into the spirit of a place and enjoying what is native to their geography. The Italians are very big on this notion and are fiercely loyal to their own products. If you want to fit in like an Italian, it is helpful to know how what you order in Firenze is different from Roma, or Venezia.
   
   I have found the authors recommendations on restaurants to be right on target. Many of the restaurants he recommends I had been in prior to purchasing this book and found that I agreed with his selections.
   
   I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves food, and wants to enjoy the best that Italy has to offer.



3. I planned my last trip to Italy around this book. Fred in one hand, an atlas of Italy in another. His insights into regional food kept us true to the places we visited (Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, along the Adriatic coast, and Emiglia Romana), and served as a magical gustatory compass. We had five of our top-ten-EVER meals on that trip, with very few splurges. We're going to France in three weeks and have lamented over and over that this book doesn't have a French counterpart. If only he had a Francophile twin!



4. His reviews, from what I have experienced, are right on. I would recommed this book to a foodie who is going to be travelling to Italy.



5. This is an excellent book for deciding which part of Italy to visit if you want your trip to be food orientated. You have to remember that you can cross over from area to area though. You also have to remember that the book was written ten years ago and some places may no longer exist or be out of business. But it's so enthusiastic and although centered on food
   offers other options as well, like classic towns to visit. It fills you with a joy for visiting Italy and I thoroughly recommend it while urging Mr Plotkin to please please update it.

4 comments about Streetwise Naples Map - Laminated City Street Map of Naples, Italy - with integrated metro lines and stations.

1. Have used these Streetwise maps for various locations and found them easy to read and carry, fit right in your pocket. This particular one we did not use as much as others as we were not in Naples but for taking the train! Had one for Florence and it was great, highly recommend.



2. This is a great little map. It shows the street where the famous daMichele Pizza is located (Via de C. Sercele) which other maps did not show. And it shows the funicular stations. It does not show Metro stops, however, the National Geographic Naples book has that.



3. I was really dissappointed with the map, it wasn't even regular map size, if it was they could have put the whole city on one side.



4. I have used these maps before and like them for a variety of reasons - they are virtually indestructible, very clear with plenty of information and they fold up quickly and easy to put away in your bag. There is nothing like having a big paper map clutched in your hand to lable you TOURIST.

1 comments about Corsica 4 (Regional Guide).

1. I was traveling in Corsica summer 2001. I had bought this guide and the Insight guide about Corsica. Together they was a very good match.

   LP's book have a good diving and walking section. The walking section covers the famous GR20 route in particular. The diving section contains a lot about the diving possibilities and where the best dives are.

   There are a lot of small villages in Corsica. Many of them is not mentioned in LP. So don't forget to explore.

5 comments about HarperCollins Language Survival Guide: Italy: The Visual Phrasebook and Dictionary (HarperCollins Language Survival Guides).

1. This is not your ordinary phrase book or travel guide. Unlike the other guide books I have purchased on Italy that only focus on landscapes and museums, this book is packed full of photographs of all kinds of handy "need to know" information. It is more of a picture - reading guide book that illustrates social customs, a whole array of signs-and what they mean-(i.e. street/HWY, bank machines, open/close, tickets, schedules, etc.), and food and shopping sections. Throughout out the book, there are yellow "information" boxes that give you more indepth hints about the subject it is highlighting (ex. driving...legal driving age in Italy is 18; if you get a ticket, you'll be fined on the spot, etc.) Also, there are pink "Keywords" boxes and green "talking" boxes that help you with words or how to ask questions and are reflective to whatever the subject matter that is being highlighted on that page. There is a whole alphabetized section of menu items, some with pictures, and it gives you details of what you are ordering or how to read a wine or beer label. The last half of the book is the Italian-English, English-Italian Dictionary. Overall, a very useful book that gives you handy pictorial information on how to manuever around Italy without language being a barrier.



2. This visual dictionary is extremely helpful for the foreign traveller as well as the Italian who tries to explain to a foreign friend what a particular dish is made of.
   The pocket book is divided into three sections:
   a. hundreds of colourful pictures with explanations and useful phrases;
   b. a menu reader with some pictures;
   c. Italian/English and English/Italian glossaries.
   I was looking for a practical dictionary to explain to foreign friends the meaning of our Italian dishes such as "caprese", "affettati misti", "melanzane alla parmigiana", "bruschetta", "caponata" and so on. I found this marvellous book and am happy because it gives you the explanation of a dish, not only its translation. I recommend it to everyone, for it's extremely clear, complete and detailed.



3. If you are going to Italy, you MUST take this book... The pictures are invaluable! Especially when there is no one around to ask questions! We used this book more than we used our dictionary!
   
   We have used the one for France too!



4. Recently I visited Italy and wanted a language guide. I chose this book and was very happy with the purchase. It was easy to use and because it was divided into categories; i.e., public transport, banks and money, shopping, dining, etc., getting what we needed on the trip was easy. The phrasing was appropriate and the guide to pronunciation, fantastic. It also includes a dictionary with words in English to Italian and Italian to English. Very helpful. I would recommend this book highly for people traveling to Italy. A great resource.



5. Great help on our trip to Italy in the spring of 2006.

5 comments about A Small Place in Italy (Travel Literature).

1. I read Love and War in the Apennines, and just completed A Small Place in Italy. No doubt the villages and the people have have changed. And there's something endearing about knowing your neighbors, and being a part of their lives. I did enjoy this book, and the other. But I can't help but feel that there is still a void to this whole series. I really want to know about Wanda. She must really me a fantastic woman.



2. Having a love for Tuscany and Umbria but not the income to live there, my partner and I read with some initial pleasure two books by people who renovated villas at vast cost and labour to the local tradesmen and wrote down lots of recipes - 'hell I'm such a cute and cultured Californian poetess patronising the locals once a year'.

   Then a friend lent us the Newby version. Forget the rest. Get the best. He and Wanda work hard. They know and respect their neighbours. Crisp words give life to vine-growing, mountains, meals and breakneck roads.

   This is the one: all else are imitations.




3. In 1967, British travel editor Eric Newby and his wife, Wanda, bought a primitive farmhouse in the hills between Liguria and Tuscany, the region where they met during World War II, Newby a soldier on the run between POW internments, Wanda a relief worker. They are the first foreigners to come live in their neighborhood, which remained unchanged from the time of the War; in fact, the country people, contadini, probably lived pretty much as they had for a couple of centuries or more. In the 25 years that the Newbys stayed, using the farmhouse as a second home but tending the land seriously, they were accepted and came to know the people and area well. A SMALL PLACE IN ITALY is a profile of their neighbors, their work, customs and the surrounding area. He offers up historical notes and chronicles the arrival of the late 20th century and loss of old ways.

   This book has everything going for it. Newby is honest, a truthful writer. He never sells out his subject for entertainment or sentimentality. He does not go the route of portraying the noble savage, he does not paint the peasantry as buffoons or children, he does not go over the top to prove that he is one of them. It is obvious that he and Wanda were quickly accepted into the community because they were hard workers who respected the land and were happy to share. There is a fine wit and spirit at hand. Newby has to be the most resilient person on earth (see A SHORT WALK IN THE HINDU KUSH for more evidence).

   Other virtues of this book: the pages whip by because Newby is brilliant at ordering his information. He also translates the Italian phrases and words that pop up routinely, so that those of us unschooled in Italian, particularly northern Italian expressions, are not at a loss.




4. I've read: "Under the Tuscan Sun", "Extra Virgin ...", "An Italian Affair", "In Maremma: Life and a House in Southern Tuscany", "Italian Neighbors" and I'm on my way to the library to pickup and start reading "Pasquales' Note: Idle Days in an Italian Town". I started reading these types of books when I got lonely for Italy after visiting in November of 2001. I just finished "A Small Place in Italy". Each of these books have something special in it that I enjoyed reading about. I really enjoyed reading about the person Attilio. Attilio came with the house when they purchased this house in Italy -- he had his own secret room. I enjoyed reading about how they hired their local tradesmen to renovate and repair this house. I hope I never run out of these types of books to read, I do plan to return to visit Italy, it would be a joy to visit some of these small towns.



5. The urge to escape the comforts, routine and refinements of our living conditions to somewhere more challenging, primitive and raw is something that many of us feel - especially those who read books. The books we read can sometimes stimulate the urge, sometimes satisfy it. All I ask of such books is that the author can write well and that he is not boastful.

   Eric Newby, especially in "A Small Place in Italy", meets these requirements admirably. Indeed, he ranks for me as a travel writer of near genius. He was almost 50 years old when he and his Italian born wife Wanda took up permanent residence in a ruined farmhouse in northern Italy. His account of the trials and tribulations that followed, the neighbors and the locality, is told in this wonderfully witty, readable and valuable book. Part of the value rests in the sociological and historical dimensions it gives. Even while he lived there, the customs, the occupations and the life styles were fast disappearing.

   If you enjoy this genre, you'll want to give "A Small Place in Italy" a prominent place on your bookshelf.